How Many Units Can You Build on a City of North Vancouver Lot?
The City rezoned most of its low-rise neighbourhoods into one new zone, and inside it your unit count is read off your Official Community Plan designation rather than your zone. Two identical lots can be 4 units and 6.
In December 2025 the City of North Vancouver created the Ground Oriented Zone and rezoned its low-rise neighbourhoods into it, moving roughly 4,900 of the City's 7,200 parcels in one step. If you own a house lot in the City, you are almost certainly in it.
What makes the City unusual is what happens next. Inside the GO zone the unit count is not a property of the zone. It is read off the lot's Official Community Plan land use designation, and so is the floor space ratio. Your zone tells you which table to look at; your designation tells you which row.
| Situation | Units | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Lot of 280 m² or less | 3 units | Whatever the designation |
| Low Rise Neighbourhood 1 | 4 units | 0.85 FSR, lot above 280 m² |
| Low Rise Neighbourhood 2 or Residential Level 4 | 6 units | 1.0 FSR, lot above 280 m² |
The table that decides your number
- A lot of 280 m² or less allows 3 units, whatever its designation.
- Above 280 m², designated Low Rise Neighbourhood 1: 4 units, at 0.85 FSR.
- Above 280 m², designated Low Rise Neighbourhood 2: 6 units, at 1.0 FSR.
- Above 280 m², designated Residential Level 4: 6 units, at 1.0 FSR.
That 4 against 6 is a fifty per cent difference in the headline number, decided by a designation most owners have never had occasion to look up. It is also the single most common thing people get wrong about redevelopment in the City.
Lot coverage scales with how many homes you build
The GO zone does not publish one coverage figure. It publishes a scale keyed to the number of homes: 30% at one, 35% at two, 40% at three or four, and 45% at five or six.
That is a genuinely different way of regulating bulk, and it rewards the higher counts rather than squeezing them. It also means a coverage number quoted without a unit count attached to it is meaningless in this city.
Make sure you are in the City, not the District
The City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver are separate municipalities sharing one street grid and one postal identity. They run different zoning bylaws and answer Bill 44 differently. The BC geocoder returns North Vancouver for the City and District of North Vancouver for the District.
If your address is on the North Shore, confirming which municipality you are in is the first step, not a detail. The District's R1 and R2 zones work on a different basis entirely.
If your lot is RT-1
RT-1 is the Two-Unit Residential district, which permits two-unit residential use with a coach house and an accessory dwelling unit as accessory uses, reaching 3 units in total at 0.5 FSR, 35% coverage and 10.1 m of height.
It is a smaller envelope than GO in every dimension, and the three units it reaches are a specific arrangement rather than a triplex.
The City of North Vancouver zones behind a small-scale count
| Zone | Name | Dwelling units |
|---|---|---|
| GO | Ground Oriented Zone | Up to 6 |
| RT-1 | Two-Unit Residential 1 | Up to 3 |
GO, the Ground Oriented Zone, is where nearly all of the City's house lots now sit. Its 6-unit figure is the top of a designation-driven range, not a flat entitlement. RT-1 is the two-unit residential district, which reaches 3 as a two-unit building plus a coach house or an accessory dwelling unit.
Every North Vancouver zoning district, A to Z
North Vancouver Bill 44 FAQ
How many units can I build on my lot in the City of North Vancouver?
In the Ground Oriented zone, 3 units on a lot of 280 m² or less, and above that it depends on your Official Community Plan designation: 4 units in Low Rise Neighbourhood 1 and 6 units in Low Rise Neighbourhood 2 or Residential Level 4. In RT-1 the figure is 3.
What is the GO zone in the City of North Vancouver?
The Ground Oriented Zone, created in December 2025 to carry the City's small-scale housing framework. The City rezoned its low-rise neighbourhoods into it, moving roughly 4,900 of about 7,200 parcels. Inside GO, both the unit count and the floor space ratio are read off the lot's OCP land use designation.
Why do two identical City of North Vancouver lots allow different numbers of units?
Because the GO zone sets the count by Official Community Plan designation, not by zone. A lot designated Low Rise Neighbourhood 1 allows 4 units at 0.85 FSR, while one designated Low Rise Neighbourhood 2 allows 6 at 1.0. The zoning map alone cannot tell them apart.
What lot coverage applies in the GO zone?
It scales with the number of homes built: 30% at one, 35% at two, 40% at three or four, and 45% at five or six. Because a lot of 280 m² or less is capped at 3 units regardless of designation, such a lot takes 40% rather than 45%.
Is the City of North Vancouver the same as the District of North Vancouver?
No. They are separate municipalities with separate zoning bylaws and different answers to Bill 44, sharing one street grid. Confirm which one your address is in before relying on any figure, since guidance written for one does not transfer to the other.
What is RT-1 zoning in the City of North Vancouver?
Two-Unit Residential 1, which permits two-unit residential use with a coach house and an accessory dwelling unit as accessory uses, reaching 3 dwelling units. Its envelope is 0.5 FSR, 35% lot coverage and 10.1 m of height, which is smaller than the GO zone in every dimension.
Next steps for your lot
- Run your address for the exact permitted unit count and buildable envelope.
- North Vancouver Bill 44 map
- North Vancouver zoning districts
- See what Burnaby lots allow
- See what Vancouver lots allow
Last reviewed September 2026.